The proto village of Andhra Pradesh
Tekulodu, a small village near Chillamatturoo in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh is like a dream village for everyone who believe in village empowerment and decentralization for the good of nation. The village has made its identity as a proto village since 2014 as it is role a model showcasing self sufficiency in the field of food ,water, electricity, sanitation and education.
The models developed in Tekulodu emphasizes on fulfilling all the basic needs along with maintaining the ecological balance which is a beautiful example of self sufficiency along with mutual sharing of resources.
Kalyan Akkipeddi, a name well known to every social entrepreneur in the country - a former engineer who quit his job to make a barren land an ideal village. The story itself sounds like dream come true. The village has gained immense popularity over a span of four years due to the vision of this young entrepreneur.
The Stunning Story
About 120 km from Bengaluru, lies the village Tekulodu in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh. The model of self-sufficiency along with ecological sustainability which the village presents surpasses the glory of many social movements. Since the village is a prototype of an ideal village hence it is named as proto village.
The proto village emphasizes on 9 basic elements or needs as a foundation for community development – food, shelter, water, healthcare, clothing, energy, education, trade, connectivity and disaster management - all in communion with nature. Sustainability and self-sufficiency is their main motto.
Kalyan Akkipeddi, inspired by the simple living of innocent tribal people, decided to took up this barren land for his social experiment. He purchased some land, a few kilometers from Tekulodu near his hometown and started doing organic farming on it. He chose one of the farmers as intern for this experiment.
Within a short span of time, the farmer witnessed a rise in income nearly 20 times of the previous income which inspired other farmers to work on this project. The farmers started using solar pumps for irrigating the fields along with practicing organic farming under the guidance of Kalyan Akkipeddi. The rainwater draining down earlier was now collected in small Ponds in low lying areas and stored for community use. Very soon village became popular as the prototype of a model village.
The Ideology of Village
The proto village has its roots deeply inserted in the field of community service and eradication of racial discrimination. The village has its own community kitchen in which both men and women cook the food without worrying about caste and creed. The women especially are so happy and satisfied here as they enjoy equal rights and opportunities and have ample time to learn something new of their choice.
The learning centre of the village is named after the Japanese philosophy of life called Ikigai. Ikigai emphasizes on earning livelihood which not only generates income but gives a sense of lifelong satisfaction. People here in the village are indulged in farming, poultry, soap making, furniture making and collection of forest produce. The level of satisfaction in the people here is so high that they never wish to migrate to cities for any luxuries.
Education as a Pillar
Tekulodu has a strong vision for education. Its quest for education can be seen from the fact that it has its own Wi-Fi network with the self made syllabus affiliated by IGCSE board with children studying there without being distributed in any specific class or standard. Education model of village relies on sharing of intellectual resources. The children here are experts in various subjects from coding to Japanese language only because of the fact that village welcomes many volunteers who live in village for some time and offer a kind of training or intellectual sharing to the children.
Employment
The village is self sufficient in terms of survival and meeting their own needs however Akkipeddi and his wife Shobhita are working on a three-stage plan called “Grammam Yojana” which will be implemented till 2024.The plan includes developing a Swadeshi or local brand by joining about 8000 women from nearby villages and generating employment by making soap and many food items. In this plan, women will be involved in each step and in every activity- right from horticulture, soap making and marketing food items.
Entertainment
The village has its own Open Theatre in which various cultural programs are being conducted at the village level periodically.
Very soon proto village is going to offer intern program for village youth to learn and implement the same in their villages as a part of Social entrepreneurship. What a miraculous and noble effort by a single man who not only transformed a village but the lives of people. Tekulodu picturizes the real image of an ideal village in India.
